2012 Pittsburgh Steelers Training Camp Roster Battles: Long Snappers

There are only 6 more days now until the Pittsburgh Steelers report to training camp and we are starting to wind down our look at the training camp roster battles prior to the team arriving to Latrobe.

In this post we will look at the two long snappers on the roster that will do battle, and they of course are Greg Warren and Matt Katula. Let\’s have a look at each.

LS Greg Warren – Warren is entering his eighth year in the league as the Steelers long snapper and has played in 101 regular season games. After having his season cut short by knee injuries in both 2008 and 2009, Warren has managed to stay healthy the last two seasons. The average fan would not be able to pick him out of a lineup or know him by name and that certainly is not a bad thing as it means he is doing his job. Once again the Steelers head into camp with competition for him to beat. That hasn\’t been an issue for Warren in the past and I can\’t see it being an issue for him this year either.

LS Matt Katula – Katula was signed by the Steelers as a free agent in the middle of June to serve as training camp competition for Warren. He entered the league with the Baltimore Ravens in 2005 as an undrafted free agent and played there five seasons. After short stints with the New England Patriots and the Minnesota Vikings over the last two seasons, Katula once again found himself out of work. For him to win the Steelers long snapping job it would take either a collapse or injury of Warren.

Summation – How do you summarize a position like long snapper? As I made it clear above, this is Warren\’s job to lose. Baring injury or a mental block of some sorts, it is hard to see him not winning the job. Should that happen, at least Katula has some experience and will save a tad bit of money against the cap.